A southwest Ohio toddler is believed to be one of the latest casualties in what is shaping up to be a particularly severe flu season. The federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention said influenza is widespread, the agency's highest level of concern, in at least 46 states, and has so far claimed the lives of 13 children and hospitalized tens of thousands of others.

...In California, 91 people have died from the flu, including 27 people under the age of 65. In San Diego County, 46 people died from the flu during the week ending Jan. 6, health officials said. During the last flu season, eight Californians died from complications of the illness.

Four people have died of the flu in Tennessee. They include a pregnant woman and three children.

In Arizona, flu cases had shot up 785 percent over the previous year by mid-December. The deaths in Arizona included a young Phoenix mother, who died two days after she was diagnosed.

Texas has more flu cases than any other state in the country, according to a map by the pharmacy Walgreens. Texas tracks adult flu deaths as a combined statistic with pneumonia deaths. So far this season, there have been 1,155 combined flu and pneumonia deaths and one flu-related pediatric death in the state. In Dallas County, Texas, at least 11 people have died of complications of the flu. In Travis County, where Austin is located, seven people have died. There have been no pediatric deaths.

In Indiana, at least 25 people have died since the CDC's last surveillance report, which included year-end totals.

Many of those getting sick with the flu have a strain known as H3N2, which doesn't respond well to flu vaccinations — though public health officials say that some protection is better than none at all and encourage people to get flu shots. That strain is particularly dangerous to young children and older adults over the age of 65.

Symptoms of the flu include fever, cough, body aches, headaches and fatigue. It's always a good idea to call your doctor if you have symptoms, but if a child has trouble breathing, has bluish skin, or is not waking up or interacting, get immediate medical attention. In each of the past several flu seasons, at least 100 children have died, according to CDC data.

Immediate medical attention is also advised if an adult has difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, has sudden dizziness or confusion, is severely or persistently vomiting, or improves but then gets worse.

What, you mean you mess w/ the flu bug in labs then convince a % of the population to pay you for the luxury of being contracted w/ the mutant bug and not it os more wide spread then before and killing people!?!?

Texas has more flu cases than any other state in the country, according to a map by the pharmacy Walgreens. Texas tracks adult flu deaths as a combined statistic with pneumonia deaths. So far this season, there have been 1,155 combined flu and pneumonia deaths and one flu-related pediatric death in the state. In Dallas County, Texas, at least 11 people have died of complications of the flu. In Travis County, where Austin is located, seven people have died. There have been no pediatric deaths.

Things in NW Texas, a personally intimate report:

MIL got sick with it a couple of months ago. She ended up taking cipro which caused a severe allergic reaction that caused a rash and burns all over her body, except above the neck. She went into our little town hospital a week and a half ago for the flu. There they caught what was the beginnings of pnuemonia. But a day later, they soon realized they couldn't handle her case there locally.
They were going to send her to a larger facility in the next county. But this hospital was swamped with an unbelievable number of flu and pnuemonia cases.

So they had to care flight her 3 hours away to Lubbock where she was immediately admitted into their burn unit (the best in our state i'm told).
The first pictures started arriving on facebook around the time she was transitioned from one hospital to the other. It looked painful and frightening.

She is doing better now, praise God! She is still slowly recovering. But we don't know when she is going to be released from the hospital in Lubbock. It could be tommorow or could be next week. But before she can come back home, she should be going back to our little hospital for further recovery, which could last a couple of weeks to a month.

So many thoughts are going through my head right now. Ranging from anti vaccinators, to the drugs that cause an unimaginable reaction within persons affected by them, to wondering if flu and pnuemonia shots are as potent as they needed to be this year and to how unusually virulent and aggressive the flu has been this year.

But as AFAIK, our hospitals, especially in my region of the state, have responded especially well to all the patients in need.

Though with sadness, i did lose a dear friend from work who died from this shortly after thanksgiving. 😢